VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Late Robbie Coltrane Recalls Watching Daniel Radcliffe Grow Up As Harry Potter

When Robbie Coltrane passed away last week at 72, much of the world mourned. The beloved actor, who played Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, was commemorated by his co-stars, including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, for his humor, kindness and talent.

In memory of Coltrane, we’re throwing it back to one of our favorite interviews with the actor. Coltrane and Michael Gambon, who portrayed Albus Dumbledore, sat down for a chat with uInterview founder Erik Meers to discuss what it was like watching Radcliffe grow up as Harry Potter.

“Well, I didn’t become an actor until I was about 27, so I’ve never played a young person … Well, been a young person as an actor, so I didn’t know what he was going through,” Coltrane said. “He was going through the normal stuff you go through in adolocence, but in the midst of glaring light. They had to do all the school work and so forth, and they were on almost all the time. The first two films, they’re almost not off the screen.”

“He’s amazing, isn’t he?” Gambon added. “The day they found Daniel, they struck gold. When I took over, I was very anxious. I got a note from J.K. Rowling and she just said, ‘He seems like a bit of a hippie,’ which I thought was good. She didn’t seem to mind that. Very much light flowing costume silk and so it was a bit hippie-ish, I think she quite liked that.”

Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie, children Spencer and Alice, and his mother Rhona Gemmell.